Re: Video Game News

Sadly, this Next Generation weekly series is going to take a turn for the worse--no, worst--once they dig their claws into 3D Realms. The Garland company behind '90s super-seller Duke Nukem 3D has been developing that game's sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, for nearly 10 years (in 1997, the game's title was originally a pun on the word "four," but by 2003, it had become an obvious prophecy). The first-person shooter has been the butt of endless Internet jokes, topped off when Wired gave the game its "Vaporware Lifetime Achievement Award" and crowned it the king of delayed video games. The previous king? Also a Dallas native, Daikatana was developed by the now-defunct ION Storm Dallas studio (whose meltdown we famously reported on in 1999). Its three-year delay seems piddling in comparison, but 3D Realms designer George Broussard has stated as recently as February 2006 that the game is still coming along (though he refused to declare a release date). Methinks the Garland gang should wait until 2007 and capitalize on its 10-year anniversary. -Sam Machkovech